As always, it is a pleasure engraving for Jo Malone London fragrances here in the Houston area. This was a fragrance bottle engraved with calligraphy a few weeks ago at an event in anticipation of Mother’s Day. Every event is always so wonderful as I have the ability to watch these talented ladies customize the perfect scents for their clients. The ability to layer these scents makes each one special. Cheers!

On Friday, I had the exquisite pleasure of engraving calligraphy in fragrance bottles for the Ferragamo boutique at NorthPark Center in Dallas. I say that it was an exquisite pleasure as everything about the boutique was inviting. They only recently moved into this specific space a month prior to my visit. There were 2 entrances into this boutique; 1 internal entrance through the center and an external entrance from the street. Secret: I don’t find shopping to be pleasing hence I am typically only in stores when I am working. With that in mind, the entrance from the street was golden. Once I entered the boutique, every representative exuded the holy grail of luxurious service under the stead of Juan Novoa, Boutique Director. Every member was graceful, calm, welcoming, attentive & kind.

The finishes throughout the store radiated the elegant mood initiated by the staff. They were simple, clean and elegant. Engraving fragrance bottles in the boutique was a genuine pleasure as they engraved like silk. I assure you that on some level glass is glass, but as a calligraphy hand engraver some glass feels more like crystal than your garden variety glass. I can think of a few bottles specifically that always “feel” elegant during the engraving process. These fragrance bottles and the Macallan Scotch Rare Cask bottle are the first 2 to come to mind. I engraved quite a few fragrance bottles that evening. It was an exquisite pleasure & I look forward to returning to this boutique.

It is always so nice to find new canvases for engravingcalligraphy. Makeup has become a canvas with which I enjoy engraving. Why not? Makeup is transformative and has the power to lift your mood. Who doesn’t appreciate that?

This compact was engraved for the cosmetics company known as Shiseido. One aspect of their compacts that anyone would appreciate is that they are reusable. You simply replace the makeup inside of the compact. The concept is genius and cost-effective. Ladies appreciate that especially here in Houston. Cheers!

I can’t believe that I neglected to post this engraved wine bottle. As I was engraving at a Baytown HEB event the week of Valentine’s Day, there was a gentleman that requested to have a simple Valentine’s message engraved with calligraphy on his bottle. We decided to keep it very simple. I hope that she loved it. Cheers!

To say that it was fun would be an understatement. That night, I had the pleasure of engraving just under 200 chalices wth names in calligraphy. As always. it was a wonderful time.

Toward the end of the last event, there was a gentleman that approached my table and said “I’ve never seen a calligraphy engraving “booth” before”. I responded that there was a first time for everything :) I love my job.

When I moved to Houston, I heard people mention “the Rodeo” and I recall not giving it much thought as I assumed that it was a one weekend event with cowboys lassoing cattle and riding horses. It didn’t appeal to me. As time carried on, I began to realize that the Houston Rodeo is a great deal more than that. It lasts over a month long and consists of more than what the title implies.

There is a wine competition where hundreds of wineries compete against each other for the title prize of Best Wine. There is a grilling cook-off that brings people from all over Texas and beyond to indulge in the cooking expertise of hundreds of pit-masters. Along with that, there are many concerts representing various music genres with the biggest names in the music industry. It’s a big deal. Millions of people come to the Houston Rodeo each year. Granted, I have never been, but it is immensely popular.

I was contacted by the Houston Rodeo team to engrave a bottle for a treasured member of the Wine Committee team and it was my absolute pleasure to engrave this scotch bottle with calligraphy for them. I hope that they liked it. Cheers!

I have developed an affinity for engraving calligraphy into lipstick, foundation sticks and compacts, lip glosses etc. The compact substances are typically acrylic / plastic, however with the right tools they can engrave quite nicely. This lipstick by Chanel is engraved with the name Hilda. I adore this!

I had the wonderful opportunity to engrave a beautiful message in calligraphy in this Creed fragrance bottle for an equally beautiful lady. This was to be a gift to her darling for Valentine’s Day. i loved the result of this fragrance bottle and I understand that this gentleman adored the engraved result as well. Cheers!

It has been quite awhile since I have engraved fragrance bottles with Dolce & Gabbana, but as always it was a pleasure. I engraved calligraphy into fragrance bottles with this amazing team here in Houston for 8 hours on the loveliest day of the year…Valentine’s Day. To say that it was a wonderful day would be an understatement. From each client to the Dolce team, all was perfect. Here, we placed a self-esteem boosting message into a fragrance bottle for Grey. Number 1, I love the color grey. Number 2, this scent is intoxicating. Truly, it is. It was a lovely day for engraving.

Engraving calligraphy in cosmetics is something that I enjoy. Granted, most of my calligraphy engraving work is in glass and metal with wine, spirits and fragrances. Yes. Guilty as charged. However, I am unapologetically feminine. Cosmetics and makeup are so transformative and can take your day from “blah” to “I have arrived”. I adore the beauty industry and all of the fun that comes with it.

Here, I had the opportunity to engrave names in a calligraphy style in Chanel eyeshadows and lipsticks. There are so many things that are wonderful about the previous sentence… But aren’t these compacts in plastic or acrylic? Yes. I have previously not engraved items of this nature, however at the urging of a colleague, I decided to venture into engraving calligraphy into plastics and acrylics. I hope that you like it.

It has been my pleasure over the years to engrave spirit bottles for various companies. One time of the year that I eagerly anticipate is Lunar New Year. I have the opportunity to go to Houston’s amazing Chinatown area in Bellaire and engrave cognac and whisky bottles throughout January & February. If you have not ventured to any of the restaurants in Houston’s Chinatown, you should stop what you are doing and treat yourself immediately. Upon first impression, you may find incredibly unassuming restaurants with service that may not be exactly five star. But the food…….the meticulous care that this taken in the preparation of food that, from the menu description, seems pedestrian is often mind-blowing and exceptionally inexpensive. Yes… as a vegan diner, give me Chinatown any day of the week. Truly.

At an engraving event last week, there was a bottle of this Johnnie Walker Blue that was presented to me. I have learned that every year, Johnnie Walker Blue creates a beautiful bottle to commemorate each Lunar New Year. This year is the Year of the Pig. The artwork on 3 sides of that whisky bottle is exceptionally beautiful. You have to remind yourself that “this is a spirit / liquor bottle” and not a painting.

I was asked to simply engrave “Chuc Mung Nam Moi 2019” which is Vietnamese for Happy New Year. (Please forgive my lack of proper accents over the vowels. My keyboard is not exhibiting them.) I was pleased with the result. The client was so pleased that she purchased a second bottle to be engraved as well.

The last few months have been a whirlwind. To my everlasting shame, I have not created a proper post to this blog in a few weeks. I am determined to return to regular blogging with regard to my work with calligraphy and glass engraving for wine, spirit and fragrance companies.

The ultra-concise video above is from an onsite calligraphy wine bottle engraving event here in Houston for Josh Cellars. On this one, it was simply the name “Brittany”. I decided to use an alternate version of a Spencerian B on this one. I love this B as upon inspection, it is a tricky one. The left side of the shade on the stem of the B is a normal shade while the right side is kept straight with the upper portion of the line. When using a calligraphy nib, you are required to manipulate the tines such that the left side of the tine pushes to the left while the right side remains straight. I truly love that B. While engraving, it’s a slightly different story.

When it comes to wine and spirit bottle engraving, I love that clients have embraced the idea of personalizing the gifts that they bestow upon their loved ones. Even long ago, providing an embroidered item was a show of prestige as having something personalized was far from provincial. It still strikes a chord with those that receive gifts in our modern age.

This holiday season was without a doubt the busiest onsite calligraphy engraving schedule that I have ever had since I started my business and it is still going…. Without a doubt, I am overjoyed. Granted, with anything, there were triumphs and missteps. One of those missteps is that in the chaos of running from one event to the next, I neglected the beautiful step of blogging about my wine bottle engraving work. I placed a few pictures on Instagram, but if you know me, you know that that doesn’t really cover it :).

One client that I have worked with over the last few years has been Campo Viejo Rioja. I absolutely ADORE Rioja and Spanish wine as a whole. It isn’t my “go-to” as Champagne and Burgundy occupy that space, but Rioja can be gorgeous. When in Spain, it is always mind-boggling to me how you can order the “house wine” and have a gorgeous glass of Rioja inexpensively. So to have the opportunity to engrave for a company that cherishes the Rioja that is imported to the US is wonderful.

Above is a video of a Campo Viejo wine bottle engraved with “Drink me” in calligraphy from November.

Since I left wedding calligraphy, I haven’t had as many events for which I have created laser cut names with calligraphy here in Houston. My engraving business has become the prominent source of 90% of my events & projects. However, I recently created an order for a client in Spain along with a few additional names. Upon receipt from cutting, I was reminded of how beautiful these can be. The ones that I created are simple, which contributes to their elegance in my view. As you know, I genuinely adore ornate lettering and feel that it is a genuine expression of myself. However, I believe that there are times where less is more. This is one of those times. The clean, simple look of these names in calligraphy feels perfectly graceful. Cheers!

Years ago, the prospect of engraving at events here in Houston was one of those ventures that I initially approached with hesitation. At the core, I would consider my personality to lean more towards introversion. I am not shy, but I am an introvert. Granted, people that meet me provide a look of bewilderment when I state this but alas it is true. So the idea of engraving on the spot as clients watched and trying to keep pace with the high volume of requests that can result in a fragrance, grocery or wine shop initially seemed daunting my first year in business. However I will say that over the years, it has become one of the preferred aspects of my business and I think nothing of being watched anymore. Having the opportunity to interact with clients and provide work for them relatively quickly and at a location that is convenient for them creates a perfect synergy for me, my clients and, by proxy, their clients.

I have a genuine passion for ornamental penmanship and Spencerian script. That, or a derivative of that, is the vast majority of what I do & adore. I am grateful everyday that this passion has resulted in a business where I am paid to express my passion. I love the idea of living my life in ornamental letters. It has become my signature in a sense.

The engraved fragrance bottle above by Calvin Klein was engraved at a Macy’s event in Houston last weekend. This particular client simply desired to have her beautiful name engraved on the bottle.

I liked the result with this engraved fragrance bottle for a number of reasons:

1) The desired message was short which allowed for a small ornamental calligraphy flourishes with the entrance and exit strokes. It isn’t ostentatious, but just enough to not be considered as plain. It can easily be distinguished from the engraving or etching that a machine will produce for a fragrance, wine or liquor bottle engraving.

2) Although some people may not care, I believe that the ornamentation provides an aspect of personalization that takes the “human factor” into account.

With the human factor in mind, I have absolutely had events where another engraver engraved at the same location the day before me and there are still tester bottles from their work at the store. I love that I can see someone’s work on an engraved fragrance bottle and know exactly which hand engraver was there. There are only a few hand engravers here in Houston (literally about 4-5) and I KNOW their work. It is our signature. A trademark. I had the pleasure this last weekend of following a seasoned engraver and was in awe of an intertwined monogram that she engraved on a fragrance bottle as she had downtime during the event. Her work was her signature and since it was engraved in glass, it will literally endure forever. How can you not experience chills upon considering this? I love that….

I love the result of this engraved fragrance bottle above and I hope that you do too. Cheers!

I had the exquisite pleasure of seeing my dear friend, Michael Sull, Master Penman at the Dallas Pen show this past weekend. Of course we have spoken via phone & Skype over the last year, but it has been about that long since we have seen each other in person. I was able to sit in on a talk that he gave on penmanship & calligraphy variations with fountain pens. As always, he provided insights that open your mind and defy some orthodox mindsets. All of this while at the same time keeping his traditions. After all, we must uphold certain standards :).

I also had the delight of committing a few sins and purchasing a few exquisite pens for myself and Lola obtained her first fountain pen…A waterman :). I wonder if she will venture down the rabbit hole of fountain pens as i have. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the Montegrappa - Bugatti pen that I scored. The excitement is STILL oozing from me. It was a religious experience. Yes, it was…

This was the 2nd weekend since April where I was not engraving or providing calligraphy here in Houston for a client so it was nice having a slight break in the schedule. Alas, I returned to calligraphy projects today, return to engraving events this Thursday and then weekend events in a week and a half. And I couldn’t be more delighted. Cheers!

If you have ever created lettering that will later be used for gold foil, you know all about the giddiness that can ensue. Gold foil is just GORGEOUS!!! The lettering honestly doesn’t even have to be exquisite to illicit excitement with gold foil juxtaposed with the right contrast color. It’s just fun and gorgeous upon completion….

I was working for a Houston client in their office on a project for an upcoming event. While I was there, she asked if I could write something in calligraphy that would be used for a gold foil piece. It was a groovy day and I thought “sure, I’d be delighted to”. Right before I put nib and ink to paper she says, “can you use the D that has the 3 internal loops”. That specific D is relatively new to me. I LOVE that D, but it is one that if I don’t calligraph it for a while, I may desire 1-2 attempts before I calligraph it in a way that pleases me. This day was no exemption.

I calligraphed the desired words “drawn together”. On the first attempt, I thought…”it’s not too bad, but that isn’t it….but not bad for no warm-up”. Well, she saw it and decided to run with it. She gave me the impression that she would prefer to have it more “natural” vs worked or re-worked to something close to perfection. Granted, I am the first person to say that I have never presented anything that is absolutely perfect. I’m a human and a human that is still honing my craft at that. However, I can absolutely relate to embracing flaws and loving the work that is created with them.

I am looking forward to seeing the final result in a few weeks….

Peace & Love while Slinging Ink®

PS I used a Tachikawa G (my modern nib of choice) with flannel grey ink

Fun, insanely busy, lots of laughter, meeting groovy people….These are all of the thoughts that initially come to mind when I think of the 6 months that I engraved EVERY WEEKEND for Stella Artois & Anheuser-Busch. It was beyond fun most weekends and there were some weekends where I looked up and realized that I engraved about 380 glasses in 4 hours :0.

To those that say that calligraphy is dead or a “lost art” ( I hear that one ALL of the time), I say “not in my world”. Calligraphy is alive and well and I couldn’t live without it…literally. Here in Houston, I have had the opportunity to live in letters in the style that woks for me. The glass above was one of the last chalices from the last event.

Thank you Stella Artois and Anheuser-Busch. It has been an absolute pleasure.

Surprise! I placed calligraphy on mirrors..... Yes, there is no surprise there. However, what is different is the color. On these, I tend to have a preference for white ink as it exudes a classic sense that appeals to me. Alas, I had a client from Los Angeles contact me and request magenta ink in an informal calligraphy style. Frankly, magenta is just not a color that I think about. It's definitely not the garden variety color. However, I absolutely adore how the result. That is the beauty of having an open mind I suppose....even with calligraphy. So to this client, I say THANK YOU!

I absolutely love love! I adore the various ways that people express love. Many ways are far from conventional while others are expected. Both forms should be welcomed with open arms.

This gentleman approached my engraving table this past weekend while I was engraving at an HEB in the Houston area. He had the idea of having this famed question placed on 2 wine bottles. It was quite genius really. In the event that his words failed him all he has to do is present the bottle and the bottle does the work for him. The reasoning behind having 2 bottles was to enjoy one if all goes well and retain one for memories.

Over the years I have been asked "why in the world would someone want to engrave a bottle?" My thought is that handwriting & calligraphy moves our souls and is frankly as personal as one person can be. Introverts like myself tend to express themselves best via the written word. It is with lettering, handwriting, calligraphy that we offer our thoughts and views to others without the hesitation that can take place with verbal expressions. Engraving a message in a wine bottle is just another expression of that...with the beautiful, seductive gift of grapes inside. As a second, one could simply ask "why not?" :). Cheers!

Slinging Ink® of Bella Grafia Calligraphy is a Houston Based calligraphy firm that was established on the idea that sometimes the vintage way of creating art is the best. Hand written calligraphy is the most elegant form of communication and an event focused on the art of others deserves nothing less. As a Houston calligrapher & engraver, I believe in doing it beautifully or not at all.

Slinging Ink® Calligraphy & Engraving of Bella Grafia, LLC retains all rights to the content of this web site, as well as all calligraphy and engraving artwork we produce on behalf of our clients. Our artwork and designs may only be used for each specific job we created them for. The client, stationer, graphic designer photographer and printer agree that our artwork will not be copied, re-engineered, re-purposed, edited to create derivative works, resold, reprinted, given away or re-used in any way that would violate our copyright. Photographs of our artwork are to include artwork credit to Slinging Ink® - Bella Grafia, LLC.